Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s1.t2.2

v2.c10.s1.t2.2

*The Legend of the Tang Dynasty* are also deeply influenced by Indian Buddhist literature. Ji Xianlin believed that the form of *The Legend of the Tang Dynasty* are affected by Indian stories, for example, the structure of *The Record of Ancient Mirror* is similar to that of *Panchatantra* and *Six Paramitas Sutra*. In terms of content, the *Record within a Pillow* (Pipe Dream) and *The Governor of Nanke* describing the dream-like world, the *Record of the Detached Soul* describing the separation of soul from body, and *Liu Yi’s Biography* describing the love and marriage between a common man and a dragon lady, are all related to Buddhist literature. At the same time, *The Legend of the Tang Dynasty* have also evolved from the Buddhist scriptures stories, for example, *Yuan Guai* (also known as *Yang Sou*) in the *Records of Xuanshi Palace* is clearly developed from the story of the crocodile wanting to eat the heart of the monkey, which is from *Jataka Tales*, and appears in many Chinese Buddhist scriptures.